There has long been a demand in the art for an effective quick-turn (less than 360 degrees) panel fastener. Quick-turn panel fasteners provide a fastening system to securely join and detach two panels face-to-face quickly and easily. A clamping load is desirable and often provided. There are many variations of fasteners that are designed to achieve these general objectives, however each has specific limitations such as: cost, scope of applications, absence of clamp load, etc. Also, some require that a second component be placed on the support panel or that the parts be assembled when used.
The Southco® company offers a “fractional-turn fastener” that utilizes a rubber sleeve, two cams, and a stud. However, this fastener has the significant drawback that it must be assembled by the end user around the first panel on site when first used. This fastener typically comes in two sets, one on either side of mating panels that attach the panels together. Paneloc Company offers a vibration-resistant reusable BI-FIX™ quarter-turn fastener that requires five components, with different components for different applications. This fastener requires irregular shaped holes in both panels that cannot be quickly drilled and can only be punched with a series of hits and different punches or a special punch. The DZUS fasteners include a stud and a grommet that attach to the first panel, and a spring with two rivets that attach to the second panel. There are several variations of this fastener but each includes unassembled multiple components.
Thus, while there are many variations of quick-turn or quarter-turn fasteners available that solve some of the problems in the art, each still has a number of drawbacks. Therefore, there exists an unfulfilled need for an effective quick-turn fastener that can join two panels quickly and easily without requiring the assembly of multiple parts or complicated preparation of the panels.